Massage apparatus



Sept. 11, 1934.

L. o. BERGMANN MASSAGE APPARATUS Filed June 23, 1952 INVENTOR. $24) 0527 9 BY flmfi W.

' ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 11, 1934 TATE ArsNr FFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to massage apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus that is especially adapted for massaging the muscles of the stomach or abdomen.

Generally stated, therefore, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction and arrangement whereby. an ordinary punching bag, with a massage means for engaging the stomach or abdomen, may be .em-

ployed for obtaining the desired massaging effect, by a swinging motion of the punching bag, and by the impacts of said bag against a ring or similar frame member held in the hands of the user, as will hereinafter more fully ap- 16- pear.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general eificiency and V the desirability of a massage apparatus of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a face view of the massage instrument employed as a part of the apparatus embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section of said instrument.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of said instrument, showing portions of the bars upon which said instrument is removably mounted and held, during the use of the apparatus, broken away or omitted.

Fig. i is a perspective of said apparatus, showing how the same is employed by a person, such as an athlete, for the desired purpose thereof.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a rounded or convex member 1, adapted to be held against the stomach or abdomen of the user. This bulging or convex member is provided with means on its rear side providing notches 2 for the cross bars 3 of the apparatus.

The cross bars 3 have their end portions suitably secured to the ring 4, and the punching bag 5 is suitably secured to the bracket 6 at the intersection of said bars.

With this construction, it is obvious that if the ring 4 is held in the hands of the user, as shown in Fig. 4, the bag 5 can be swung laterally, by moving the ring from side to side, so that the bag will alternately strike the opposite sides of the ring. If, therefore, the massage instrument 1 be held against the muscles of the stomach or abdomen, the impacts of the bag on 53 the ring will be communicated to the body, and

a'massage effect will be obtained, such as that required by athletes to reduce weight and strengthen the muscles of the torso.

Obviously, however, the ring 4 with its cross bars 3 and the punching bag 5 can be suitably suspended or mounted overhead, when not in use as a part of the massage apparatus, leaving off the instrument 1, whereby the punching bag can be used by a boxer in the ordinary manner. For this purpose, the punching bag and its supporting frame are not new. However, the addition of the massage instrument 1 to the structure, and its use for massaging purposes, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, give the punching bag and its ring-like frame a different function, as in this way the punching bag becomes adapted and operative for massaging purposes, as the swaying motion of the person using the apparatus, from one side to the other, will cause the bag to strike first one side and then the other of the ring, and impact will be communicated to the instrument 1, and from the latter to the body of the person. In this way, it

is found by actual practice that a beneficial massaging action or effect is obtained, by the use of an ordinary piece of gymnasium equipment, and by simply adding thereto the plate or instrument 1, or any suitable means for engaging the body of the user.

It will be understood, therefore, that the instrument 1 can be of any suitable known or approved material, either soft or hard, depending upon the particular results desired, or the circumstances of difierent cases.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a massage apparatus, the combination of a support adapted to be held in the hands of the user, a bag having a swinging connection with said support, whereby the user may swing the bag sidewise, causing it to alternately contact with first one side and then the other of the support, and massage means on the inner side of said support for engaging the body of the user, whereby the impacts of the bag on said support are communicated to the body.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, said support comprising a ring adapted to be held in the hands of the user, and cross bars on said ring, said bag being an ordinary punching bag hitched to the intersection of said bars, and said massage means being detachably mounted on the inner side of the intersecting portions of said bars.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, said support and bag constituting a punching bag equipment, for use in the ordinary manner, and said massage means being detachably applied to the inner side of said support, whereby the said support and bag can be used as an ordinary punching bag, with said support suitably mounted overhead, when not in use as part of the massage apparatus, said support being shaped to receive the bag from any direction of swing thereof.

t. A structure as specified in claim 1, said massagev means comprising a convex member detaehabiy applied to the inner side of said support, with the convex side thereof facing the body of the user.

5. In a portable massage apparatus, the combination of a massaging member adapted to be held against the stomach or abdomen, means in the form of an ordinary punching bag flexibly tied at the back of said member, and means for supporting said member and having means so arranged that the bag may be swung thereagainst and adapted to be grasped in the hands of the user for the manipulation of said bag and member.

6. A structure as specified in claim 5, said means comprising a ring engageable with said bag and cross pieces thereon to the intersecting portions of which said bag and member are attached.

7. The combination of an ordinary punching bag and instrumentalities for employing said punching bag for massage purposes, comprising a structure to be held in the hands, means to hang the bag thereon, so that by movement oi the person the bag may be swung back toward said structure, the latter having means to receive the impacts of the bag, and having body engaging means to impart the impacts to the body.

8. A structure as specified in claim 7, said impact receiving means comprising a ring adapted to be grasped in the hands, with said body-engaging means rigidly connected to the ring at "the axis of the latter.

LEO O. BERGMANN. 

